Master Index of Archived Threads


Wayne Hagin ?

Frayed Knot Jan 10 2008 09:57 PM

Neil Best; Newsday: Veteren baseball announcer Wayne Hagin, who most recently called games for the Rockies and Cardinals, is the leading candidate for the vacant spot in WFAN's radio booth opposite Howie Rose, a person familiar with the search confirmed. Anyone even hear or know anything about this guy?

AG/DC Jan 10 2008 10:09 PM

Hagin had the unenviable job of replacing Jack Buck in St. Louis. A quick search on the Cardinet suggests he was fine but didn't blend well with Mike Shannon, which is nothing to be ashamed of.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jan 11 2008 07:28 AM

He's the one who caused a minor sensation by tattling on Todd Helton for using steroids on air, then awkwardly backed away from the claim.

bmfc1 Jan 11 2008 09:20 AM

Yeesh, this is the best that the Mets can come up with? A second banana from St. Louis? He's not bad (he doesn't make me ill like some others) but he's not New York quality, either. I also don't want somebody in there that was happy at the end of Game 7, 2006 NLCS. Ed Coleman's no great shakes but he's now a Mets guy. I certainly don't want a "fan" in there cheering for three hours--this isn't the Lowe's Broadcast Booth at Yankee Stadium--but I prefer somebody with at least a little blue and orange in his blood.

AG/DC Jan 11 2008 09:27 AM

I think Howie and Gary are as good as any booth can get with guys who are (a) historical fans and (b) don't let it turn them into fools. Ted Robinson grew up a Met fan, but he didn't last long. I was thinking I was going to get him in the parody challenge.

Frayed Knot Jan 11 2008 11:22 AM

One would think that if they were inclined to go with Ed Coleman they'd have done so already. He's openly said he wants the job. Of course, they'd then have to find a new Eddie to be Eddie.

Benjamin Grimm Jan 11 2008 11:25 AM

They could choose this Eddie: except that he's too busy suing everyone.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jan 11 2008 11:36 AM

Not an Ed Coleman fan here. I think Sal/Ira and, um, did he get banned again? summed up his investigative work by calling him "The Enuch." PbP I suppose he doesn;t suck. I'm thinking I could do a good job alongside Howie. Pick me.

Frayed Knot Jan 11 2008 12:00 PM

Sal/Ira/Bret/Doc's problem with Coleman had to do with his reporting skills(or lack thereof). I agree that he's pretty vanilla at times, while also acknowledging that he sometimes had a delicate line to walk as he bounced between beat reporter, pre/post-game show host, and regular FAN staffer. No guy who's in the locker room every day is going to be as confrontational and opinionated as say M&MD for the same reason that Adam Rubin isn't going to tee off on some player with the same degree of freedom as Mike Lupica, or even the regular White House beat crew as compared to their op-ed commentator collegues on the Sunday talk show circuit. Howie Rose, when he used to juggle the same beat, handled it better IMO but would still occasionally catch grief from several directions as he tried to navigate the differences between when the NYM portion of the broadcast ended and the regular WFAN programming took over. Ed has done p-b-p on a fill-in basis and is OK at it but nothing special IMO. I'm pretty indifferent as to whether he gets the job or not. I'm just thinking that either they have no intention of picking him or he's going to look like the ultimate fall-back choice if they do.

Frayed Knot Jan 13 2008 08:10 AM

In other broadcasting news; Keith - who was previously committed to SNY only through '08 - has signed a longer-term deal (no specifics). The entire SNY crew (Gary, Ron, Keith & Kevin Burkhardt) are now locked up for several years.

Benjamin Grimm Jan 13 2008 08:21 AM

Good news!

Gwreck Jan 13 2008 09:15 AM

That's, um, debatable.

AG/DC Feb 07 2008 11:27 PM

Hagin is the winner.

Frayed Knot Feb 19 2008 01:47 PM

[url=http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-spmedia195583515feb19,0,3812641.column]Meet Wayne Hagin[/url]

metirish Feb 19 2008 01:55 PM

In that bit it mentions that the Mets WFAN deal is set to expire after 08, surely they won't leave the FAN , will they? Where would they go etc?

AG/DC Feb 19 2008 02:07 PM

My house.

Frayed Knot Feb 19 2008 02:14 PM

metirish wrote: In that bit it mentions that the Mets WFAN deal is set to expire after 08, surely they won't leave the FAN , will they? Probably not, but it's always possible. The MSG teams (Knicks, Rangers) left a few years back when they and FAN mgmt had a vast difference of opinion as to the worth of their broadcasting value. Basically FAN said they weren't in the business to lose money on rights fees simply for the 'prestiege' of hosting those teams and they refused to pay what MSG was asking. So MSG decided to produce their own games and simply sell them to a station looking for an entry into the NYC market - and found one in the desperate-to-get-a-toehold ESPN affiliate (1050 WEPN). ]Where would they go etc? Any one of a number of stations would pay good money for baseball on the radio. The question the Mets would have to ask themselves, if it ever comes to that, is whether whatever extra money they might score from shopping themselves around would be worth losing the reflected exposure by being associated with the 800-pound gorilla of sports radio stations.

Benjamin Grimm Feb 19 2008 02:16 PM

I don't care where they go, as long as the station has a powerful signal that I can pick up in Southeastern Pennsylvania as easily as I can WFAN. I think WABC (770) and WCBS (880) would qualify. I'm not sure of any others. I doubt that WCBS would want to commit to broadcasting 162 games. And does WABC still do Yankee games? I thought I heard something about them moving but I don't remember for sure.

AG/DC Feb 19 2008 02:22 PM

I imagine, if the Mets were shopping around, WFAN would go hog wild trying to get the Yankees on board to replace them as signature programming.

Nymr83 Feb 19 2008 02:26 PM

]I think WABC (770) and WCBS (880) would qualify. I'm not sure of any others. I doubt that WCBS would want to commit to broadcasting 162 games. And does WABC still do Yankee games? I thought I heard something about them moving but I don't remember for sure. WCBS (880) does Yankee games. WABC (770) is conservative talk radio, so you'd have Sean Hannity, baseball, and then Laura Ingram.

metirish Feb 19 2008 02:26 PM

The FAN now does NJ Devils games with Matt Loughlin of all people on pbp.

Frayed Knot Feb 19 2008 02:30 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Feb 19 2008 02:31 PM

Yanx moved to CBS 880 from ABC 770 a couple years back. I believe ABC still does some "minor" sports (Seton Hall hoops I think) but I'm not sure whether they'd want to blow a hole in their evening talkers' lineup (Mark Levin, Bob Grant and blondie Laura whatshername would be most affected) on an every night basis like they'd have to do for baseball. The weak signal problem was one side-effect to the Knicks/Rangers (and Jets) move to 1050. The quickly found out that there are a ton of "dead" areas where that signal doesn't carry well (the main reason why the fledgling WFAN got outta there quickly when 660 became available). That frequency now has signed up smaller stations on the east end of LI, for instance, to reach previously unreachable fans. If 1050 could prove to that they can cover a wider area they would kill to have baseball.

seawolf17 Feb 19 2008 02:31 PM

I lose 1050 a lot... I'd hate to see the Mets leave WFAN, but as long as they're on a clear-channel station, I don't terribly care.

Gwreck Feb 19 2008 02:37 PM

There are 5 clear-channel stations in the NY Area: 660 WFAN 710 WOR 770 WABC 880 WCBS 1130 WBBR

AG/DC Feb 19 2008 02:48 PM

Isn't clear channel a mafia?

Fman99 Feb 19 2008 02:49 PM

I get them on XM as I'm too far from NYC. XM always uses the home broadcasters... so I get to hear other teams' radio squads on road trips. They vary in quality.

Gwreck Feb 19 2008 02:55 PM

AG/DC wrote: Isn't clear channel a mafia? Two different terms. "Clear-channel" is an adjective as to how the AM frequency is broadcast. Basically it means that nobody else can broadcast on that particular frequency within 10,000 miles, or something like that. "Clear Channel" is a private monopolistic evil company.

AG/DC Feb 19 2008 02:58 PM

Gotcha. Me so thick.

Kong76 Feb 19 2008 03:15 PM

And these stations have licenses to broadcast at the maximum number of watts (power) allowed by the government (FCC?) which is 50,000 watts. Amazing in these days of satellites and a global computer network that this old stuff still matters.

metsmarathon Feb 19 2008 03:30 PM

Frayed Knot wrote: Yanx moved to CBS 880 from ABC 770 a couple years back. I believe ABC still does some "minor" sports (Seton Hall hoops I think) but I'm not sure whether they'd want to blow a hole in their evening talkers' lineup (Mark Levin, Bob Grant and blondie Laura whatshername would be most affected) on an every night basis like they'd have to do for baseball. The weak signal problem was one side-effect to the Knicks/Rangers (and Jets) move to 1050. The quickly found out that there are a ton of "dead" areas where that signal doesn't carry well (the main reason why the fledgling WFAN got outta there quickly when 660 became available). That frequency now has signed up smaller stations on the east end of LI, for instance, to reach previously unreachable fans. If 1050 could prove to that they can cover a wider area they would kill to have baseball. 1050 needs to do something about that damned toronto chum station... friggin oldies is all i friggin get! um, or enlist help that i can receive in NW jersey.

Nymr83 Feb 19 2008 04:20 PM

i don't know what the range is on WFAN (660) but it gets static as you drive up the NYS thruway and is unlistenable, though you can tell theres something there, (not sure if that makes sense) in Albany.

Gwreck Feb 19 2008 06:40 PM

Sounds like your car radio/antenna is subpar. I've had no problem getting WFAN in the general Providence-Albany-Reading-Atlantic City radius around NYC. That being said, AM radio is subject to lots of interference (high voltage electric lines, for example), and has a much stronger signal at night.

seawolf17 Feb 19 2008 06:46 PM

I believe it's a coastal thing -- WFAN is the only 660 east of the Mississippi. When I worked for 1180 WHAM in Rochester, which is a clear channel station, we'd occasionally get word of interference from a Cuban station that would block our signal in the southern states, but most nights, it was clear as a bell just about anywhere. Yes, it's 50,000 watts, and yes, the AM signal is clearer at night because of the way it bounces off the atmosphere; that's also why it travels farther than FM.

metirish Feb 19 2008 07:40 PM

It's time they streamed Mets games over the internet.

Frayed Knot Feb 19 2008 07:54 PM

metirish wrote: It's time they streamed Mets games over the internet. Well they are if you subscribe via MLB media or whatever they call it. WFAN can't do it through their site because those rights belong to MLB.

metirish Feb 19 2008 07:59 PM

Frayed Knot wrote: ="metirish"]It's time they streamed Mets games over the internet. Well they are if you subscribe via MLB media or whatever they call it. WFAN can't do it through their site because those rights belong to MLB. Yes I meant FAN should do it, thanks for the info on MLB.

AG/DC Feb 19 2008 08:16 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Mar 02 2008 01:34 PM

It was five years ago that I was at a pool party where I (1) knew nobody, and (2) was the only one above nine using the pool. Heck yeah, it was like 108 degrees. Anyhow, after that breach of etiquette, Cha thought it best to leave. We were driving the old Dodge Raider (Mitsubishi Montero with an American label) that we got off her Mom, and I first learned that you could hear Bob Murphy on hot summer nights in the DC suburbs. "Cha," I said, "drive home slowly."

Kong76 Mar 02 2008 11:47 AM

Today is first time I've heard Wayne ... he's alright enough so far.

Frayed Knot Mar 02 2008 01:54 PM

Yeah, so far he doesn't sound like he's Mr. Excitement -- but it's also ST and there's not too much to get excited about. In all, I'd rather hear a straight-forward announcer as opposed to one who tries to manufacture drama where there is none and/or attempt to make himself the center of attention.

Kong76 Mar 02 2008 02:01 PM

As if on cue, he has something to get excited about as Pagan knocks in the go ahead run in the ninth topping off a nice looking day from him.

Fman99 Aug 29 2008 11:12 AM

Wayne stinks.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Aug 29 2008 11:22 AM

He tries. But yeah.

metirish Aug 29 2008 11:42 AM

I will never forget one of the first times I heard him commentating on a game , Beltran was racing home form first maybe , anyway it was going to be a close play and Wayne doing the call on Beltran rounding third said this....' and now all eyes fixated on Beltran as he rounds third' , it just sounded so different.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Aug 29 2008 11:49 AM

That's just it, he tries to get everything into every description, and often foregoes the timely delieverance of news. It's impossible to tell what happens on an infield single with him, for example. And on plays like home runs, he frequently makes the mistake of including some dumb counting record a part of the call's excitement. At the moment he hits it I could give a rat's ass if Schneider's HR is his 3rd of the year or his 4th or his 15th, but Wayne feels like he's gotta tell me. He also is very Midwest and Howie very Northeast, they're styles complement sometimes but not always.

G-Fafif Aug 29 2008 12:19 PM

I like Wayne. I like the outsider's perspective. It doesn't come off as just-passing-through, but as someone who has become genuinely fascinated by a baseball culture we take for granted. There's a real sense of "you New Yorkers sure do take this stuff seriously." I like the between-pitches insights. Early this year he watched Pelfrey struggle at Chase Field and talked about how the mouthpiece was working against him because it left his mouth dry and in Arizona, it mean he couldn't step off the mound and benefit from chewing gum. He's always noticing little things like that and throwing them in. I also think he's wry as hell. One night he riffed on how he and Chris Majkowski would be coming over to watch some hypothetcial big game on Howie Rose's plasma TV which plainly caught Howie off guard, though he recovered with, "not if my wife Barbara has anything to say about it." Their chemistry is middling, but they serve their listeners well. I dig the goofiness, the home runs "hit deep into the New York night," even though the New York night is, you know, the Mets bullpen. And I don't find myself lacking for descriptions of a given play. I couldn't stand Tom McCarthy (couldn't call a game, was boring as all get out) and was suspicious of Wayne's clearly generic-sounding voice, but he grew on me. I hope he sticks around a while.

AG/DC Aug 29 2008 12:23 PM

I'm still waiting on folks to come around on Ted Robinson.

seawolf17 Aug 29 2008 12:25 PM

="AG/DC"]I'm still waiting on folks to come around on Ted Robinson. He's something of a zombie, really.

G-Fafif Aug 29 2008 12:42 PM

Caught Ted doing some Olympic event (tennis, probably) and got annoyed at him all over again, particularly for how he never stopped talking about the bloody San Francisco Giants the entire time he was a Metcaster. Wayne drops in the occasional Cardinal or Rockie anecdote when it serves a purpose. McCarthy didn't harp on his Phillies aphillieation, but Ted never left his heart in San Francisco. He left the whole thing. The Olympic gig reminded me that he abandoned Met ship for other gigs continually: Wimbledon, Stanford football, two kittens playing ping pong. I didn't dislike him when he showed up, but I would have appreciated a greater commitment from a Rockville Centre boy.

Gwreck Aug 29 2008 12:43 PM

Wayne has grown on me, too. I still dislike the cadence of his voice at times but the observation about his reaction to New York baseball culture seems apt. There's also the "stars burn brighter by comparison" thing. I was in Missouri this past week and it took me only about 3 innings to deem Mike Shannon unlistenable.

metirish Aug 29 2008 12:44 PM

Dave O'Brien , now he was brutal, him and Seaver in the booth was hell.

AG/DC Aug 29 2008 12:47 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Aug 29 2008 12:47 PM

I'm not buying the Tedbash. Ted Robinson was Queens-born, Rockville Centre-raised.* He was a lefthanded hitting firstbaseman in Little League who wore seven to honor Ed Kranepool. His point of reference may have been stuck in his last job, but not his heart. *Like me.

G-Fafif Aug 29 2008 12:47 PM

metirish wrote: Dave O'Brien , now he was brutal, him and Seaver in the booth was hell. O'Brien couldn't even make the Irish-American Baseball Hall of Fame's first induction class. Then again, maybe he was out of town.

Frayed Knot Aug 29 2008 02:24 PM

="metirish"]I will never forget one of the first times I heard him commentating on a game , Beltran was racing home form first maybe , anyway it was going to be a close play and Wayne doing the call on Beltran rounding third said this....' and now all eyes fixated on Beltran as he rounds third' , it just sounded so different. I remember that one. It was on Tatis's first big Met hit - the game-winning 2 RBI 2B which scored both Wright & Beltran. I thought it was a great call. The opposite of what many had against McCarthy with his lack of adequate description about what was going on. But as soon as Tatis buried one in the corner everyone knew would easily score Wright w/the tying run. So Hagin immediately became our eyes with his "all eyes now on Beltran" call as that run now became everything. He then went on to describe every detail of the rest of the play, from the hit being fielded in the corner ... to the relay throw being bobbled by Hanley Ramirez and therefore no throw to home at all. We "saw" that play as it unfolded. I haven't been listening to the radio calls lately enough to form an opinion on his overall rank in the pantheon of NYN announcers, but he's at least got the nuts and bolts to pull off good calls at times.

soupcan Aug 29 2008 02:26 PM

I like Wayne too and am more than a little surprised to see that some people don't. I think he fits right in with Howie, Gary, Keith and Ron in terms of knowledgable guys that don't have schtick and forego the hyberpole and homerism that is sooooo freaking prevalent across town, in favor of just giving me the facts ma'am and trying to stay objective. The guy knows the game, has a good wit and can call a ballgame. Keep him.

metirish Aug 29 2008 02:29 PM

I tune into the radio a few nights a week when I am down in the garage doing the garbage. One night in a Mets blowout Howie and Wayne were talking movies and Wayne talked about the first time he came to NY some guy tried to hustle him but as he said ' at least I wasn't like the guy from europe who lost his watch' , it was quite funny.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Aug 29 2008 03:08 PM

metirish wrote: I tune into the radio a few nights a week when I am down in the garage doing the garbage. One night in a Mets blowout Howie and Wayne were talking movies and Wayne talked about the first time he came to NY some guy tried to hustle him but as he said ' at least I wasn't like the guy from europe who lost his watch' , it was quite funny. I heard that bit while running. I think that was after they spent an inning or two discussing the lyrics to "car 54" (Howie) and Bonanza (Wayne).

Nymr83 Aug 29 2008 03:19 PM

lets face it folks, everyone is gonna suck after bob murphy. i prefer wayne hagin to mccarthy

metirish Aug 29 2008 05:26 PM

Yeah you're right bucket it was lyrics , my memory is not what it should be, must have burned a few cells.

Frayed Knot Sep 24 2008 08:11 AM

Hagin = MUCH better at non-HR calls than at HRs Unfortunately for him the sound-bite culture is going to judge him more for his lack of signature HR call than for the nuts and bolts of the rest of the game. And his HR calls sound forced and basically suck.

Centerfield Sep 24 2008 08:30 AM

I'm ok with Wayne. Not great, a lot better than some of the jokers I hear on XM calling other games. Obviously no one will be Murph, and the Cohen-Rose dynamic was too good to think we can replicate it again. So I can deal with Wayne until we find a way to clone Gary.